Articulator



. Oct. 22, 1963 CHARLOTTE GRAFIN VON KORFF 3,107,429

CALLED SCHMISING KERSSENBROCK NEE SCHLICK ET AL ARTICULATOR Filed Dec. 24, 1957 1 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 CHARLOTI'E GRAFIN VON KORFF 3,107,429 CALLED SCHMISING KERSSENBROCK Oct. 22, 1963 NEE SCHLICK El AL ARTICULATOR 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 v Filed Dec. 24, 1957 17 1Q sulfur W M Wm M w,

Oct. 22, 1963 CHARLOITE GRAFIN VON KORFF 7, 9.

CALLED SCHMISING KERSSENBROCK I NEE SCHLICK EI'AL mncmwox Filed Dec. 24, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 F7916 U 14? F1927 Fig/0 e 71/11/1111 III/III/I/I Dryer/tam: 1.64, Mayan-4 9 CHARLOTTE GRAFIN VON KORFF 3,107,429

CALLED SCHMISING KERSSENBROCK NEE scHucK EI'AL mncuu'ron Filed Dec. 24, 1957 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 calculi 45 n 32: 5 Jduw um a .47 Mad/- 49.1404 1- lax m United States Patent Ofi ice 3,.W7AZ9 Patented Get. 22, 1963 The present invention relates to an articulator and connected auxiliary devices for the construction of artificial dentures.

In order to determine the shape of the artificial denture one has proceeded up to now by building up two wax models on top of the gypsum castings of the upper and lower jaws which were located in an articulator, so as to obtain wax models which approximately correspond to the configuration of the upper and the lower teeth. Various embodiments of articulators are used which generally have in common that they include a joint simulating as closely as possible the movements of the joint of the human jaws in order to determine the approximate position of the two wax models relative to each other. Thereafter, the bite of the patient is determined by inserting the thus formed wax models into the mouth of the patient.

In most cases, the thus determined bite is only approximately correct, and in many cases it is entirely wrong. Consequently, usually several sessions with the patient are required in order to determine the proper bite and to construct the denture accordingly.

The above difiiculties are due to the fact that the patient changes the direction of pressure exerted between upper and lower jaw after insertion of the wax models, dependent on the haphazard location of the first point of contact between the upper and lower half of the wax models. This first point of contact is arrived at by mere chance, for instance, due to small protruding areas of the wax model or due to unavoidable slight angular dislocation of the wax models when the same are positioned on the jaws of the patient. Consequently, practically is all cases, the first bite taken will be slanted. These shortcomings of the method of determining the proper condition of the bite lead to mistakes in building up of the artifical dentures. As a consequence thereof, the finished artificial denture is usually too low on one side and the artificial denture of the upper jaw exerts a lever action against the artificial lower jaw denture causing dislocation of the same.

A great number of attempts have been made to overcome the aforementioned ditficulties, primarily by providing articulators of various constructions. It has been tried to build articulators by means of which the movement of the joint of the human jaws can be simulated as closely as possible. Since, however, the movement of the lower jaw cannot be geometrically defined, due to the prevailing anatomic relationships, it is not possible in this manner to obtain satisfactory results.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to overcome the aforementioned dissadvantages of presently known articulators.

It is another object of the present invention to provide an articulator in which the wax models of the artificial dentures can be located relative to each other in exactly the configuration of the proper bite of the patient.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from a further reading of the description and of the appended claims.

With the above and other objects in view, the present invention mainly [comprises in an anticulator, in combination, lower support means for carrying a cast of a lower jaw, upper support means for carrying a cast of an upper jaw superposed upon and spaced from the lower support, and spacing means for maintaining the upper and lower support means at a predetermined vertical distance relative to each other, the spacing means comprising a plurality of'pairs of a spacing member, each pair of spacing members comprising an upper spacing member connected to the upper support means and a lower spacing member connected to the lower support means, the upper and lower spacing members of each pair of spacing members being formed with contacting faces adapted to abut on each other thereby keeping the upper and lower support means spaced from each other, the contacting faces of the plurality of pair of spacing members located in a calotte shaped, i.e., part spherical surface and being surfaces forming part of a sphere and having the same center and radius of curvature as the required center and radius of curvature .of the occluding surfaces of the teeth when properly mounted on the jaws of the articulator, the walls of the support means which carry the casts forming part of a cone having its apex located in the center of the sphere.

Thus, the present invention is based on the concept of positioning the upper and lower jaws when checking the bite in such a manner as will conform to the bilateral symmetric configuration of the jaws. The wax model of the bite obtained in this 'novel manner is then transferred onto the gypsum cast blocks of the jaws and root projections, and the gypsum blocks located in the novel jointless articulator of the present invention. According to the present invention the upper and lower halves to the novel articulatorv are firmly but removably connected to the gypsum blocks, respectively. This is accomplished by making the two halves of the articulator of resilient material, preferably resilient synthtic material, and by providing projections which form identations in the soft gypsum mass. By bending the articulator halves outwardly, it is then possible to withdraw the projections from the thus-formed indentations of the hardened gypsum blocks.

According to the present invention, the lower half of the articulator is provided at its upper outer edge with lateral projections, and the upper half of the articulator is provided with corresponding projections at its outer lower edge, which projections can slide with their abutting faces upon each other when the upper half of the articulator is positioned on the lower half thereof. The contacting faces of these projections are located in a calotte-shaped surface having a radius of curvature of between and mm., corresponding to the radii of curvature of the chewing surface. When the halves of the articulator are moved relative to each other, the upper half will always display a tendency of returning into its proper, i.e., symmetric, position. This returning movement of the upper half of the articulator can be supported by a resilient connection of the articulator halves, for instance, by means of coil springs, each of which is connected with one of its ends to the lower half of the articulator and with its other end to the upper half of the same. I

It has proved advantageous to make the articulator of transparent or translucent synthetic material.

The upper half of the articulator may be provided with non-yielding or with resilient stops which limit the disalignment of the upper half of the articulator relative to the lower'half thereof. By thus limiting the movement of the parts of the articulator it is achieved that the gypsum blocks are kept relative to each other in a position corresponding to the position of the root projections in the mouth of the patient during taking of the casts with the help of a snafile adapted to bend the patients tongue backwards.

According to a further embodiment which is particularly advantageous in the forming of the artificial denture, the two articulator halves are of frusto-conical shape respectively. The angle of the truncated cone corresponds to the angle of inclination of the teeth, or more specifically, of the axes of the teeth.

For casting and transferring the bite, preferably a snafile made of synthetic material is provided which snafile is inserted into the mouth of the patient in such a manner as to bend the tongue backwardly. The lower part of the tongue of the patient rests on a projection arranged in the center of the snaffle. Thereby it is achieved that due to the sensitivity of the tongue, the snaflie upon being introduced into the mouth is oriented corresponding to the axis of symmetry of the jaws. The snaflle which thus extends in the mouth in transversal direction is formed at both its transversal ends in such manner that casting material can be adhered to the same. This casting material serves for determining the bite in the area of the first and second molars. In order to assure symmetric positioning of the snaffle relative to the axis of symmetry of the jaws, it has been found advantageous, according to the present invention, to provide the snalile at its front end with means, for instance, with an indentation adapted to receive a piece of wax, on which, when taking the bite, the tips of the teeth in the center of the upper and lower jaw will be marked.

Due to the backward bending of the tongue with the snaflle, according to the present invention, any forward movement of the lower jaw during taking of the bite is prevented. This constitutes a very significant advantage, since according to conventional methods, it was nearly impossible to avoid forward movement of the lower jaw into a unnatural position when placing the wax models of the groups of teeth onto the root projections.

Furthermore, the present invention contemplates an auxiliary device for adjusting the articulator, which device comprises three arms on which are marked the corners of a rectangular isosceles triangle. Two of these arms are straight and extend in one straight line, the third arm is bent so as to be located in a calotte surface corresponding to the chewing surface, and is also located in the plane of symmetry of the two other arms.

An arch-shaped template made of transparent synthetic material and adapted to cover either the upper or the lower teeth, is formed with three arms which may be placed on the above described abutting faces of the lateral projections of either the lower or the upper half of the articulator. By means of this template it is possible to determine and control the position of the chewing surface calotte in the area of the tooth tips.

According to the present invention, it is possible to assemble the denture which customarily is built up of individual artificial teeth, in the molar area of blocks comprising several molars which are integral with the part of the prosthesis replacing the gum and which can be adjusted in the direction of the lines of the chewing pressure.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a frontal view of the two halves of the articulator;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the articulator;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the articulator taken along line IIIIII of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of an auxiliary device for determining, in building the artificial denture, the location of the chewing surface;

FIG. 5 is a lateral view of the device illustrated in FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a top plan view of the cross-shaped auxiliary transfer device;

FIG. 7 is a lateral view of the device illustrated in FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a top plan view of the snafile;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of the snafile taken along line IXIX of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of the snafile illustrated in FIG. 8, taken along line XX;

FIG. 11 is a top plan view of the molar blocks, according to the present invention; and

FIG. 12 is a sectional view of the molar blocks illustrated in FIG. 11.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2, the upper articulator half 1 is shown, consisting preferably of resilient and synthetic material and being formed at its lower edge with three spacing members 2 having contacting faces 2a, respectively. The downward contacting faces 2a, as also shown in FIG. 3, are located in a calotte-shaped surface. The radius of the calotte surface is, corresponding to the anatomic relationships, between and mm. Contacting faces 2a rest, upon assembling of the articulator, on contacting faces 3a of spacing members 3 of the lower articulator arm 4. Inwardly extending projections 5 of the upper and lower halves of the articulator (reference Nos. 1 and 4) serve for anchoring the gypsum blocks for the root projections (not shown) of the upper and the lower jaw.

Preferably, the lateral spacing members 2 on upper articulator half 1 and the corresponding lateral spacing members 3 on lower articulator half 4 are so arranged that the lowermost point of the calotte defined by the chewing surfaces, and defined in the articulator rby faces 2a and 3a, lies underneath a straight line passing through the lateral spacing members. The projections 11 on upper articulator half 1, shown in FIG. 2, prevent rearward movement of upper articulator half 1 relative to lower articulator half 4 beyond edge to edge bite position.

The auxiliary device as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 comprises two straight arms 14 and 15 extending along one straight line, and one arm 16 arranged in a plane perpendicular to arms 14 and 15, extending from the center of arms 14 and 15 and located in a calotte shaped surface in which also the chewing surface defined between the upper and lower teeth is located. Arm 16 is connected to arms 14 and 15 also by bracings 17, the endpoints of which define a rectangular isosceles triangle, the endpoints of which may also be marked by projections or indentations. The length of the base line of this triangle, comprising portions of equal length of arms 14 and 15, corresponds to the average distance of the first and second left molar from the first and second right molar. When the triangle is positioned so that its apex rests on the center of the line formed by the tips of the teeth, then the base line of the triangle indicates the position of the interface between the first and second molar. In the lower half of the articulator bores or slots are provided for receiving the end portions of arms 14-46. These slots are for instance indicated in FIG. 2 with reference No. 13. If desired, these slots may be arranged in several superposed horizontal planes, for instance at the height of the tips of the teeth or at the height of the chewing surface.

Snaffie 18, shown in FIGS. 8-10, comprises a beam portion 19 provided at its ends with two symmetrically arranged troughs 20 for receiving the impression mass. The part of the beam portion 19 which will be placed underneath the tongue of the patient, is provided at its center with :a projection 21. The snaffle is preferably made of a synthetic material which will withstand disinfection by boiling, without distortion of its shape. At the front side of beam 19, a pentagonal symmetrically arranged plate 22 located in a calotte-shaped surface is arranged and is provided at its lower side with a hollow shell or cap 23 adapted to receive impression mass for forming an impression of the center portion of the lower jaw. By .thus forming simultaneously impressions at three points, the spatial position of the top portions of the teeth of the lower jaw is determined.

The dimensions of the snafile in its Various directions are determined by anatomical average values.

The molar blocks which are arranged in pairs, consist of several molars and the gum-replacing prosthesis portion. Preferably, as illustrated in FIG. 11, four molars are combined into one block. As shown in FIG. 11, the artificial teeth 25 of the molar block are formed with centrally arranged bores 26. These bores serve for passing pegs therethrough which aid in forming the denture. These pegs are oriented by bores 12 (see FIG. 4) in the direction in which the teeth have to be positioned in order to transfer the chewing pressure to the root projections in the direction of the lines of force relative to the chewing calotte, i.e., relative to a calotte shaped surface which is defined by contacting portions of the upper and lower teeth. The lines of force of the chewing pressure extend corresponding to the anatomic relationship in the radii of the chewing calotte. The frustoconical configuration of the two halves of the articulator clearly indicate the direction of these radii.

When forming the denture in the lower jaw, which is to be done first, the device 6, illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, is used to assure that the chewing surfaces will be located in the surface of the chewing calotte. Fig 5 shows the camber or slight convexity of device 6 which conforms to the chewing calotte. It comprises an archshaped portion 100 which, when placed in the articulator, will rest above the tips of [the teeth, and three legs 7, the ends of which fit onto contacting faces 2a and 3a of spacing members 2 and 3, respectively. The auxiliary device 6 can be fixed in proper position by placing pegs into bores 8 located in legs 7 of the auxiliary device 6, which pegs also extend either through bores 9 n spacing members 3 of the lower half 4 of the articulator, or through bores 10 in spacing members 2 of the upper half 1 of the articulator. Bores 12 of auxiliary device 6, as shown in FIG. 4, are preferably provided with an internal thread and, if desired, screwed nuts may be inserted into arch-shaped portion 100 of auxiliary device 6 (see FIG. 4).

Bores 12 are so arranged that the axes of bolts screwed into the same extend towards the :apex of the truncated cone limiting the articulator. The distance of the bores corresponds to the anatomical average width of the upper tooth surface.

FIG. 12 illustrates the molar blocks which according to the present invention, may be used in building up the denture. Thereby, the arched portion, illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5, on which the center of the upper tooth surface is marked will serve as an auxiliary device. Furthermore, the arched portion contains in the area of the seventh teeth bores 12 which may be provided with an internal thread (see FIG. 4) and which are inclined in the direction of the radii which extend through the center of curvature of the chewing calotte and which are adapted to receive pegs or screw bolts. The last teeth (compare FIG. 11) which, in a denture, are the seventh teeth are screwed or pushed onto these pegs or bolts. The inclination of these pegs or bolts can be seen in the cross section illustrated in FIG. 12, in which the part of the prosthesis replacing the gum is indicated by reference No. 24, the seventh molar by reference No. 25 and the bore penetrating the seventh molar by reference No. 2 6. Pockets 27 are provided for receiving further teeth. The bottom of pockets 27 is formed with holes '28 for connecting the artificial teeth with the gum blocks.

It will be understood that each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of articulators differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in an articulator and auxiliary devices, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown, since various modifications and structural changes may be made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior ant, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. In an articulator, in combination, lower support means for carrying a cast of a lower jaw; upper support means for carrying a cast of an upper jaw superposed upon and spaced from said lower support means; and spacing means for maintaining said upper and lower support means at a predetermined vertical distance relative to each other, said spacing means comprising a plurality of pairs of spacing members, each pair of spacing members comprising an upper spacing member connected to said upper support means and a lower spacing member connected to said lower support means, the upper and lower spacing member of each pair of spacing members being formed with contacting faces adapted to abut on each other thereby keeping said upper and lower support means spaced from each other, said contacting faces of said plurality of pairs of spacing members being surfaces forming part of a sphere and have the same center and radius of curvature as the required center and radius of curvature of the occluding surfaces of the teeth when properly mounted on the jaws of the articulator.

2. In an articulator, in combination, lower support means for carrying a cast of a lower jaw; upper support means for carrying a cast of an upper jaw superposed upon and spaced from said lower support means, said upper and lower support means consisting essentially of a resilient material; and spacing means for maintaining said upper and lower support means at a predetermined vertical distance relative to each other, said spacing means comprising a plurality of pairs of spacing members, each pair of spacing members comprising an upper spacing member connected to said upper support means and a lower spacing member connected to said lower support means, the upper and lower spacing member of each pair of spacing members being formed with contacting faces adapted to abut on each other thereby keeping said upper and lower support means spaced from each other, said contacting faces of said plurality of pairs of spacing members being surfaces forming part of a sphere and having the same center and radius of curvature as the required center and radius of curvature of the occluding surfaces of the teeth when properly mounted on the jaws of the artioulator.

3. In an articulator, in combination, lower support means for carrying a cast of a lower jaw; upper support means for carrying a cast of an upper jaw superposed upon and spaced from said lower support means, said upper and lower support means consisting essentially of a transparent, resilient, synthetic material; and spacing means for maintaining said upper and lower support means at a predetermined vertical distance relative to each other, said spacing means comprising a plurality of pairs of spacing members, each pair of spacing members comprising an upper spacing member connected to said upper support means and a lower spacing member connected to said lower support means, the upper and lower spacing member of each pair of spacing members being formed with contacting faces adapted to abut on each other thereby keeping said upper and lower support means spaced from each other, said contacting faces of said plurality of pairs of spacing members being surfaces forming part of a sphere and having the same center and radius of curvature as the required center and radius of curvature of the occluding surfaces of the teeth when properly mounted on the jaws of the articulator.

4. In an articulator, in combination, lower support means for carrying a cast of a lower jaw; upper support means for carrying a cast of an upper jaw superposed upon and spaced from said lower support means, said upper and lower support means consisting essentially of a resilient material and including projections adapted to be inserted into corresponding recesses of said casts; and spacing means for maintaining said upper and lower support means at a predetermined vertical distance relative to each other, said spacing means comprising a plurality of pairs of spacing members, each pair of spacing members comprising an upper spacing member connected to said upper support means and a lower spacing member connected to said lower support means, the upper and lower spacing member of each pair of spacing members being formed with contacting faces adapted to abut on each other thereby keeping said upper and lower support means spaced from each other, said contacting faces of said plurality of pairs of spacing members being surfaces forming part of a sphere and having the same center and radius of curvature as the required center and radius of curvature of the occluding surfaces of the teeth when properly mounted on the jaws of the articulator.

5. In an articulator, in combination, lower support means for carrying a cast of a lower jaw; upper support means for carrying a cast of an upper jaw superposed upon and spaced from said lower support means; spacing means for maintaining said upper and lower support means at a predetermined vertical distance relative to each other, said spacing means comprising a plurality of pairs of spacing members, each pair of spacing mem bers comprising an upper spacing member connected to said upper support means and a lower spacing member connected to said lower support means, the upper and lower spacing member of each pair of spacing members being formed with contacting faces adapted to abut on each other thereby keeping said upper and lower support means spaced from each other, said contacting faces of said plurality of pairs of spacing members being surfaces forming part of a sphere and having the same center and radius of curvature as the required center and radius of curvature of the occluding surfaces of the teeth when properly mounted on the jaws of the articulator; and means for limiting forward movement of said upper support means relative to said lower support means.

6. In an articulator, in combination, lower support means for carrying a cast of a lower jaw; upper support means for carrying a cast of an upper jaw superposed upon and spaced from said lower support means; spacing means for maintaining said upper and lower support means at a predetermined vertical distance relative to each other, said spacing means comprising a plurality of pairs of spacing members, each pair of spacing members comprising an upper spacing member connected to said upper support means and a lower spacing member connected to said lower support means, the upper and lower spacing member of each pair of spacing members being formed with contacting faces adapted to abut on each other thereby keeping said upper and lower support means spaced from each other, said contacting faces of said plurality of pairs of spacing members being surfaces forming part of a sphere and having the same center and radius of curvature as the required center and radius of curvature of the occluding surfaces of the teeth when properly mounted on the jaws of the articulator; and resilient means for limiting forward movement of said upper support means relative to said lower support means.

7. In an articulator, in combination, frusto-conical lower support means having walls for carrying a cast of a lower jaw; frusto-conical upper support means having walls for carrying a cast of an upper jaw superposed upon and spaced from said lower support means, said upper and lower support means consisting essentially of a resilient material; and spacing means for maintaining said upper and lower support means at a predetermined vertical distance relative to each other, said spacing means comprising a plurality of pairs of spacing members, each pair of spacing members comprising an upper spacing member connected to said upper support means and a lower spacing member connected to said lower support means, the upper and lower spacing member of each pair of spacing members being formed with contacting faces adapted to abut on each other thereby keeping said upper and lower support means spaced from each other, said contacting faces of said plurality of pairs of spacing members being surfaces forming part of a sphere and having the same center and radius of curvature as the required center and radius of curvature of the occluding surfaces of the teeth when properly mounted on the jaws of the articulator, said walls of said support means forming part of a cone having its apex located in said center of said sphere.

8. In an articulator, in combination, lower support means for carrying a cast of a lower jaw; upper support means for carrying a cast of an upper jaw superposed upon and spaced from said lower support means, said upper and lower support means consisting essentially of a resilient material; spacing means for maintaining said upper and lower support means at a predetermined vertical distance relative to each other, said spacing means comprising a plurality of pairs of spacing members, each pair of spacing members comprising an upper spacing member connected to said upper support means and a lower spacing member connected to said lower support means, the upper and lower spacing member of each pair of spacing members being formed with contacting faces adapted to abut on each other thereby keeping said upper and lower support means spaced from each other, said contacting faces of said plurality of pairs of spacing members being surfaces forming part of a sphere and having the same center and radius of curvature as the required center and radius of curvature of the occluding surfaces of the teeth when properly mounted on the jaws of the articulator; and additional resilient means connecting said lower and upper support means for maintaining the same in centered position relative to each other.

9. For use in an articulator as defined in claim 1, an auxiliary device consisting essentially of a straight elongated member; and of a curved elongated member at tached to the center portion of said straight elongated member and located in a plane perpendicular to said straight elongated member having an arch-shaped edge having the same curvature as said contacting faces of said plurality of spacing members.

10. In a articulator, in combination, lower support means having walls for carrying a cast of a lower jaw, said walls of said lower support means being formed with slots therein; upper support means having walls for carrying a cast of an upper jaw superposed upon and spaced from said lower support means; spacing means for maintaining said upper and lower support means at a predetermined vertical distance relative to each other, said spacing means comprising a plurality of pairs of spacing members, each pair of spacing members comprising an upper spacing member connected to said upper support means and a lower spacing member connected to said lower support means, the upper and lower spacing member of each pair of spacing members being formed with contacting faces adapted to abut on each other thereby keeping said upper and lower support means spaced from each other, said contacting faces of said plurality of pairs of spacing members being surfaces forming part of a sphere and having the same center and radius of curvature as the required center and radius of curvature of the occluding surfaces of the teeth when properly mounted on the jaws of the articulator, said walls of said support means forming part of a cone having its apex located in said center of said sphere; and an auxiliary device comprising a straight elongated member having two end portions inserted into said slots in said walls of said lower support means, and a curved elongated member attached to the center portion of said first elongated member and located in a plane perpendicular to said straight elongated member and having a arch-shaped edge having the same curvature as said contacting faces of said plurality of spacing members.

11. An auxiliary device as defined in claim 9 and including two additional straight elongated members, said additional members extending from a point of the curved elongated member spaced from the first elongated memer to points of said straight elongated member, respectively, which points are equidistant from the center portion of said straight elongated member, said additional elongated members being of equal length and forming a right angle at said point of said second elongated member.

12. For use with an articulator as defined in claim 1, an auxiliary device comprising an arch-shaped template having the same curvature as the contacting faces of said plurality of pairs of spacing members and having three arms integral therewith and adapted to be placed in contact with said contacting faces of the spacing members of said articulator.

13. In an articulator, in combination, lower support means for carrying a cast of a lower jaw; upper support means for carrying a cast of an upper jaw superposed upon and spaced from said lower support means, said upper and lower support means consisting essentially of a resilient material; spacing means for maintaining said 1h upper and lower support means at a predetermined vertical distance relative to each other, said spacing means comprising a plurality of pairs of spacing members, each pair of spacing members comprising an upper spacing member connected to said upper support means and a lower spacing member connected to said lower support means, the u er and lower s acin member of each air of spacing members being formed with contacting faces adapted to abut on each other thereby keeping said upper and lower support means spaced from each other, said contacting faces of said plurality of pairs of spacing members being surfaces forming part of a sphere and having the same center and radius of curvature as the required center and radius of curvature of the occluding surfaces of the teeth when properly mounted on the jaws of the articulator; and an auxiliary device comprising an archshaped template having the same curvature as the con tacting faces of said plurality of pairs of spacing members and having three arms extending outwardly and located in contact with said contacting faces of said spacing members, said arch-shaped template being formed with threaded bores extending in the direction towards said center of curvature and adapted to receive lead screws for adhering artificial teeth thereto.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,022,055 Weiss Apr. 2, 1912 1,517,922 Stanley Dec. 2, 1924 2,572,117 Dennis Oct. 23, 1951 2,688,800 Gerber Sept. 14, 1954 2,696,668 Fox Dec. 14, 1954 2,884,696 Bonfanti May 5, 1959 

1. IN AN ARTICULATOR, IN COMBINATION, LOWER SUPPORT MEANS FOR CARRYING A CAST OF A LOWER JAW; UPPER SUPPORT MEANS FOR CARRYING A CAST OF AN UPPER JAW SUPERPOSED UPON AND SPACED FROM SAID LOWER SUPPORT MEANS; AND SPACING MEANS FOR MAINTAINING SAID UPPER AND LOWER SUPPORT MEANS AT A PREDETERMINED VERTICAL DISTANCE RELATIVE TO EACH OTHER, SAID SPACING MEANS COMPRISING A PLURALITY OF PAIRS OF SPACING MEMBERS, EACH PAIR OF SPACING MEMBERS COMPRISING AN UPPER SPACING MEMBER CONNECTED TO SAID UPPER SUPPORT MEANS AND A LOWER SPACING MEMBER CONNECTED TO SAID LOWER SUPPORT MEANS, THE UPPER AND LOWER SPACING MEMBER OF EACH PAIR OF SPACING MEMBERS BEING FORMED WITH CONTACTING FACES ADAPTED TO ABUT ON EACH OTHER THEREBY KEEPING SAID UPPER AND LOWER SUPPORT MEANS SPACED FROM EACH OTHER, SAID CONTACTING FACES OF SAID PLURALITY OF PAIRS OF SPACING MEMBERS BEING SURFACES FORMING PART OF A SPHERE AND HAVE THE SAME CENTER AND RADIUS OF CURVATURE AS THE REQUIRED CENTER AND RADIUS OF CURVATURE OF THE OCCLUDING SURFACES OF THE TEETH WHEN PROPERLY MOUNTED ON THE JAWS OF THE ARTICULATOR. 